Partnership for 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills presents a holistic view for preparing students for the 21^st century.     The site outlines the skills, knowledge and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21stcentury (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation), as well as the support systems needed for students to be successful.  P21 advocates for state and federal policies that develop skills needed for the twenty-first century in every school.

I was surprised to find that my state (Maryland) was not one of the listed states having a partnership with this initiative.  With the way Maryland is embracing the new Common Core Standards, I would have thought Maryland would have been on board with the P21 initiative.  However, I thought the Common Core Tool Kit on the teacher tools portion of the site would be an excellent resource as my school begins using the Common Core Standards.   In particular I like how it includes lesson vignettes that demonstrate “what it looks like” to align instructional practices with both the common core and P21 skills.  This will be an excellent resource as we begin to plan lessons using the CCS.

In addition to the Common Core Tool Kit there are numerous resources on the sight of beneficial substance.  Having links to news regarding P21 and the CCS makes current information and opinions about both topics easy to find access.  I also found the website to provide many types of professional development, through webinars, videos, and manuals.  I found the video “Above and Beyond” a great resource to show what a P21 classroom could look like.  The only real downside of the website I found is that many of the resources listed you need to pay for to access.   

The implication for educators is to ensure we are preparing our students for the twenty first century by developing skills necessary for the 21^st century (the 4 C’s and 3 R’s).  Creating an authentic learning environment in which students engage in project based and inquiry based learning experiences is the direction in which education must move. 

Reference

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (2011). Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org

Blogs in the Classroom

I am really excited about starting a classroom blog with my third grade class.  Using a blog in the classroom will be a great way to help increase student engagement and interest while enhancing writing skills.  First, I want to use my class blog as a means for student to showcase their completed writing assignments.  Classmates would then be able to post comments to each others blogs providing encouragement and suggestions for improvement.  This will be a difficult skill for third graders to learn, however, if students are taught explicitly how to comment on each others work effectively I think they will be able after practice and time. 

In addition, I would like to use a blog as a medium for literature circle discussions.  I would be able to post discussion questions on the blog and then students could respond to the questions as well as their classmates’ responses.  I think this would be a great way for students to gain practice in their writing skills while also developing critical thinking skills.  

Blog Creation

I am so pleased to find that creating a blog through blogspot is much easier than creating a blog through edublogs.  Of course the reason for this may be that it is my second time around.  I previously made a blog for a web 2.0 course I was enrolled in.  After the course ended, I did not find myself keeping up with my blog.  However, I am excited to begin a new adventure in blogging and share with you what I learn along the way.